The Treasure of Icarus Book One - The Castle
by DivergentDemigodMMXIV
Summary: Young Perseus is tired of his Uncle Dooley and the lonely hometown of Icarus, Greece, near Mt. Olympus. And when he gets lost in the woods, he finally receives what he wants- to leave. Now, Perseus is joining the original 7 of a brand new journey that will take courage, strength, bravery, and sacrifice. All characters BUT Perseus and Uncle D are owned by Mr. Riordan. Read & Review!
1. Chapter I: Setting Up Camp

**The City of Icarus**

**Chapter I**

**Setting up Camp**

Perseus was pretty much done with the day.

He'd been traveling the woods all day, trying to find wood logs and sticks to feed the small fire in his home. Well, he wouldn't call it a home.

His parents had died in a plane crash when he was 11. Therefore, he was made an orphan, but his Uncle Dooley in Greece had adopted him, and Perseus wasn't a bundle of joy about it. He was forced to live in a ruined but still alive city named Icarus, near Mt. Olympus in Greece. He hated his uncle. He would run, and he had plenty of opportunities, but he couldn't. His uncle was always watching, even in the woods.

Perseus sighed. He was exhausted. For a 13 year old, he was well-built. He had blonde hair that covered his left eye, and blue eyes that sparkled in the falling sun.

Night would gain quickly here in Icaroon Forest, and Perseus was about 2 miles away from home. His uncle was probably worried sick, but Perseus could survive. He used half of his stick pile to set up a campfire. He reached in the pocket of his shorts, and found his purple lighter. He always carried it with him, just in case.

He pressed one out of two buttons, marked FIRE. He wouldn't dare press the second button- it was marked EMERGENCY. Unless he about to be killed by a bear, he should stick with Button Number One.

Perseus flicked the lighter on and brought it to his small campfire, in the middle of a small and opened field. The sticks burst into flames, and he pocketed the lighter, satisfied.

Now he had to worry about a shelter.

He also always carried a small pack with essential survival items- canned food, water, a tarp for a tent, rope, flashlight, compass, etc. It wasn't all that heavy, considering he'd lifted 10 ft. logs before. Perseus opened the pack and took out his tarp. He took a stick from the fire, stepped on the flames, and stuck it in the ground. He lifted the tarp and placed it over the stick. It was good to have even an ugly tent like this.

He laid down a green sleeping bag with star designs and snuggled in. It was barely a shelter, but it was the best he could do at the moment.

Perseus never had a dream so horrible.

He was standing in his field-shelter, but the fire was out. His tent was ruined, and the ground beneath him was gone. He was floating.

8 feet away from him were two teenagers, about 17 years old, and his Uncle Dooley. They were talking about something.

The boy had long, black hair that swept over his sea-green eyes. He wore an orange shirt with Greek writing on it, but Perseus couldn't decipher it. The girl must've been his girlfriend, because he was holding hands with her. She had blonde hair that fell down past her shoulder. Her storm gray eyes set a very dangerous look on her face. Perseus floated over to listen.

"- but where is he? Tell me!" Dooley yelled.

"I'm sorry, we don't know, sir," The blonde girl said calmly. "The best we can do is call our friends. We're really skilled, and we might be able to find-"

"Don't try, Annabeth." The sea-green eyed boy said. He looked Dooley right in the eye. "We will try our best, Mr. Dooley."

"But I want you to find him, child!" The man shouted. Perseus had never seen him more angry before, in his whole life. "The kid's 13! He's weak! If a bear or-"

"Mr. Dooley," Annabeth interrupted. "Do you have any idea how strong Perseus is? He's the son of-"

"Don't say the name!" Perseus's uncle shouted. "He might come!"

"Don't worry, sir," The boy said. "We are very skilled demigods. We _can _find him."

_Demigods? _Perseus thought. _Aren't those from Greek mythology?_

"Percy..." Annabeth turned to the sea-green eyed boy. "It's no use. Let's just call the others and search."

"You have no right to!" Mr. Dooley said. "He's in my custody. I, technically, own him."

"Look, Mr. Dooley," Percy said. "Do you want us to find him?"

Perseus's uncle stood there for a minute. Finally, he nodded, arms crossed. "But be safe. I don't want anymore kids to be lost under my supervision."

Percy cracked a smile. "You got it, sir."

Just then, the ground cracked open, and the 3 people fell into darkness. A voice boomed, "Young Perseus..."

"Who are you?" Perseus screamed. "Where'd they go!? Where's my uncle?"

"Don't worry, child," The voice said soothingly. It was male, all right. But who did it belong to? "Your family will be okay..."

"What about the other two?" Perseus managed to say. He was shivering with fear. "Where did they go?"

"Oh, they're fine," The voice told him. "But, when I finally rise, they will die."

Perseus gulped, and the ground cracked.

"Soon, you must make a choice, young Perseus," The voice laughed. "When you do, know that both choices are very dangerous..."

"Wait!" Perseus yelled. "What are the choices? I don't understand!"

But it was too late. The ground cracked again, and Perseus fell, into endless darkness, the voice laughing evilly, and the dream went black.


	2. Chapter II: Defeats, Meets, and Greets

**The City of Icarus**

**Chapter II**

**Defeats, Meets, and Greets**

Perseus didn't know that his dream would soon become reality.

He woke up to a roar- not like a lion, but another creature. Immediately, he packed up. He had to get back to his house, and find out what this creature is that's roaring and yelling and causing a ruckus.

He jumped out of his sleeping bag and folded it up, then put it in his backpack. Disassembling his tent, he looked around, trying to find the source of the roaring. He had never heard this roar before.

Finally, nothing was left but a few sticks. He started on his journey back when he felt breathing on his back. Slowly, he turned around.

There stood a large, black bear, his mouth opened, ready to feast on a delicious dinner.

Perseus yelled.

He'd read that if you ever met a bear, yell, make noise. They would run away. But this bear didn't want to go down without a fight.

Without thinking, Perseus grabbed his lighter. He'd never used the first button, but this _was _an emergency- he was about to be eaten by a giant black bear. He pressed the button, and the lighter sprang to life. It swirled around and turned to a shiny shade of bronze. Finally, it stopped. In Perseus's hand, was a 4 or 5 foot long bronze sword, with a lightning bolt engraved on it with one word: _Apergia _(1). He knew it was Greek, but he didn't have time to translate it, because he was about to be killed.

He swung the sword, which was surprisingly light. It slashed the bear in the head, and it growled. The bear exploded into dust, and was gone 15 seconds later.

Panting, Perseus pressed a button on his sword and it immediately turned back into a small, metal lighter. He shoved it in his pocket and ran.

After an hour, he felt tired. Perseus had walked what he thought was about 10 miles, obviously, in the wrong direction. There was no sign of his hometown anywhere. He started to panic, but remembered that he was strong. He could survive.

He looked up to the sky. A large shadow swooped over the forest. He realized it was an airship.

He took off his shirt, revealing his muscular chest. It was strange to Perseus, because he was only 13 years old. He waved his shirt around in the air, hoping to catch the captain's eye.

Sure enough, the airship started to lower.

Soon, the ship was about 20 feet above the ground. Perseus could hear the people on there shouting. They sounded like... teenagers.

Finally, the airship landed, and Perseus took a hand and climbed aboard. There were 7 people on there. One had short blonde hair, male, and blue eyes. Another dark skin, female, and flowing brown curly hair. Another wore a tool belt and looked like an elf, with his strange grin and curly hair. Another boy had a muscular body, a bow on his shoulder, and short black hair. A girl had long, brown hair, with color-changing eyes. Two more he recognized as Percy and Annabeth- the ones from his dream. The ones who he recognized gasped.

"You're... you're Perseus." Annabeth said.

"Thanks, Annabeth." The one with the elfish look laughed. "I didn't know."

"Shut up, Leo." The one with the bow demanded. Leo pouted.

Perseus took out his hand, gesturing to shake these peoples' hands. "I am Perseus."


	3. Chapter III: A Quest

**The City of Icarus**

**Chapter III**

**A Quest**

Percy pulled out a chair and Perseus sat down at a long, wooden table. The rest of the 7 sat down along it. Perseus had just learned their names: Percy sat next to Annabeth, who was next to him on the left. Across from Annabeth sat Jason, the boy with the blonde hair. Next to him was Piper, the girl with charming eyes and brown hair, and next to her was Leo, the boy with the belt and the elfish look. He was at the end of the table, facing Hazel, who was sitting at the right end of the table with Perseus facing north. To the right of Perseus, at the other end of the table, was Frank, the muscular teenager with a bow.

"So..." Perseus spoke.

"Have you ever heard of the Greek gods?" Piper asked.

"Really?" Perseus laughed. "I _live _in Greece. I practically am part of Greek Mythology."

The 7 exchanged looks.

"Oh, really?" Percy put his shoulder on the table, and looked at Perseus with a challenging look. "Who killed the Minotaur in where?"

"Theseus in the Labyrinth."

"What helped him?"

"Ariadne's string."

"Who hold's the sky?"

"Atlas."

"Tell the story of Chronus and the Titan war."

And so, Perseus did.

"Okay, then..."

"Should we tell him about the quest?" Hazel asked.

"Will he understand?"

"I don't know."

"Is he even a half-blood?"

"Smells like one."

"Guys." Perseus interrupted. All of them looked at him. "I'm right here. I can hear you." But they continued to talk. Perseus looked behind him, towards the steering room, and saw a young boy, about 15. He had long black hair and a dark look on his face. He seemed peaceful enough, but sure was creepy. He had a dark iron sword on his back and was wearing an aviator's jacket.

"Oh, that's Nico." Annabeth said next to him. "You seem interested in him. He's a Son of Hades, Greek."

Perseus laughed. "I am NOT interested in him!"

"Well, you've been staring for 2 minutes." She said.

Perseus turned around back to the table, and re-joined the conversation.

"-and if he doesn't understand, just bring him back to his uncle." Percy said.

"Woah, woah, woah." Perseus said. "Understand what?"

"We're on a quest to the Aegean Sea." Jason explained. "It's right next to the mountain range of Olympus. There's supposedly an island in the sea."

"And on the island is the legendary Cage of Icarus, where the actual Icarus's body was laid after he was found dead." Leo continued.

"He was buried- or caged- with the Sword of Skyrios, and it has the power to kill a god." Annabeth said.

"And we have to get it before someone else does." Hazel finished. "Prometheus, the Titan, is planning on stealing the sword."

"Prometheus?" Perseus asked dumbly.

"Yeah." Percy said. "We don't have much time. We have to find the Cage of Icarus before sundown in two days."

Perseus nodded. He'd had plenty of time limits for his tasks: come home by sunset with enough wood for one day; craft the bowl so we can have breakfast in the morning; things like that. He didn't really understand this task, and the whole time limit to save the world, but he would just go along with it. He'd have to help them. This was his chance. He _had _to leave.

"Want to join?" Frank asked.

Perseus perked up. "Yes! Please!"

"You'll have to say goodbye to your Uncle." Percy smiled.

Perseus said, "That can wait."

"Now... can you see through the Mist?"

"What?" Perseus asked confused. "What mist? It's not misty."

"No. _The _Mist." Percy took out a ballpoint pen. He uncapped it, and it shimmered and turned to a 5-foot bronze sword. It glowed and shined in the sunlight.

"What do you see?" Percy asked.

"A unicorn." Perseus answered sarcastically.

"Well, he can't see through." Leo laughed. "Kick him off."

"Just kidding." Perseus turned back to Percy. "A 5 foot golden bronze sword."

"You're a half-blood." Hazel said. "Welcome to the Argo II."

"Thanks." Perseus smiled. "Glad to be here."

**A/N: Thanks for reading guys. I see 60 viewers but 1 follower o.o Please don't be a ghost viewer. Review please. I want to know how I'm doing :D**


	4. Chapter IV: A New Friend for Perseus

**The City of Icarus**

**Chapter IV**

**A New Friend for Perseus**

"How do we know he's a half-blood?" Frank asked. "Maybe he's a mortal who can see through the Mist."

"Do you _want _me to chop off his arm?" Percy argued.

"Wait, what?" Perseus interrupted.

"I'll have to cut your hand to make sure you're a half-blood. We can't have mortals on board."

"What? What do you me-"

Perseus was cut off by pain in his left hand. He looked over, and Percy had just dug the tip, just the tip, of his sword into Perseus's skin. He hurt like crazy, fire burning through his arm, but he tried to act normal. Finally, Percy stopped.

The 7 looked at his hand. It was starting to bleed.

"HALF-BLOOD ALERT!" Leo screamed. Piper clammed a hand over his mouth.

Perseus tried to ignore the pain of his new cut. "So... I'm a half-blood?"

"Yeah." Annabeth said.

"We would take you to Camp Half-Blood..." Percy said, then turned to Leo. "Leo, speed?"

Leo ran into the steering room and came out a minute later. "49 miles per hour."

"Yeah, we can't turn around now." Hazel said.

"Okay, so what do I do now?" Perseus asked.

"I'll need help." Everyone turned to Nico, who was standing in the shadows behind us. "I need to repair the bottom library deck. Can you help, Perseus?"

Now everyone turned to Perseus. "Sure."

"Good, follow me." Nico started to walk downstairs and Perseus followed him. They walked down a couple of stories until they reached a small library. There were a few bookshelves, with books ranging from _To Kill a Mockingbird _to _The Hunger Games_, from _The Catcher in the Rye _to _The 39 Clues_. Perseus didn't know the demigods were so up to date with books. At the back of the room were 8 desks, each designed a specific way. Perseus guessed they were designed for each demigod, the 7 and Nico. Finally, they were at a hole in the ground past the desks. It showed the ocean, deep and blue.

"I need help repairing this." Nico said. "You can find repair tools in the Supply Closet."

Perseus nodded. He walked into the hall and reached a door labeled _Argo II Supply Closet, Built by the amazing Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus. _Perseus rolled his eyes, and soon came back into the library with a large box of wood and a toolbox.

"Thanks. What's your name?" Nico asked as he started cutting and shaping wood.

"Perseus. I know you're Nico." Perseus replied, separating the tools from the box.

"You seem to know a lot." Nico pressed some sticky substance in between the planks of wood he put down.

"Just names." Perseus smiled, and he could've sworn, Nico smiled too.

An hour later, the library looked perfect.

"Thank you, Perseus." Nico held out his hand, and Perseus shook it.

"No problem." Perseus yawned.

"Oh gods, you don't have a room." Nico stood and thought for a minute. "You can stay in my room, if you'd like."

"Wow, thanks Nico." Perseus said. Nico led him into his room. It was dark, but still had lights. There were two beds- one on the left, and another on the right. In between, against the wall, was a wooden nightstand, with a framed picture of Nico and Percy in what looked like a photo booth.

"My bed is the left one. You can have the other one." Nico said. "Can you turn away for a sec, please?"

"Changing?"

"Yeah."

Perseus turned to face his bed and realized he didn't have anything to keep here. Also, his uncle would be mad, scared crazy. But maybe Percy and Annabeth had contacted him, told him Perseus was safe. Maybe.

"You can turn now."

Perseus turned, and he didn't expect Nico to be shirtless, wear dark shorts for pajamas. He didn't mind, really. A lot of boys slept shirtless, but Perseus hadn't met any.

Perseus took note of the already made bed, and the blankets. He guessed that this was a guest bed, in case anyone like Perseus decided to join a quest. Perseus snuggled into the bed and fluffed a pillow. He looked at his watch on his left wrist. It hurt to move the arm, because of Percy cutting it, but he could survive. It read 9:37 P.M.

Perseus turned over. "Good night, Nico."

"Good night."

The dream was unexpected.

Perseus was falling into a cavern- like the end of his last dream. He still heard the maniacally evil laugh, and he suddenly dropped onto a cold, hard floor.

In front of him stood Nico.

"Nico? What-"

Nico screamed. "DIE!"

"What?"

Perseus didn't have time to think. He ducked as Nico almost slashed his face with his dark iron sword. Nico continued to fight, and Perseus dodged, and dodged, and got hit, and dodged.

Finally, Perseus was pushed back by a hit to the stomach. Panting, Perseus almost cried. Nico was his friend. He wouldn't do this. "Nico, please." He croaked. "Why are you doing this?"

Suddenly, Nico changed. His body morphed into Percy. "To save Poseidon." He morphed to Annabeth. "To save Athena." She morphed to Jason. "To save Jupiter." He morphed to Piper. "To save Aphrodite." She morphed to Leo. "To save Hephaestus." He formed to Hazel. "To save Pluto." She morphed to Frank. "To save Mars." Finally, he morphed back into Nico- but it wasn't Nico. His eyes were pitch black and his voice was raspy and old. "To allow Lord Chaos to rise." Perseus screamed as Nico threw his sword down onto Perseus.

Perseus's eyes spread open almost as fast as the wall blew up.


	5. Chapter V: The First of Many Attacks

**The City of Icarus**

**Chapter V**

**The First of Many Attacks**

"Nico!" Perseus screamed, as if Nico couldn't hear the explosion. He looked around the room, but Nico wasn't there. Instead, a large double-snake was in the room, snuck in through the hole in the wall it created. The two snakes connected to a human body with strange wings. The body belonged to a female, and she wore a long, black robe and carried a large black trident. Perseus panicked. "Nico!"

"Your Nico will not help you." The creature smiled. The trident glowed, and a large sound boomed in Perseus's ears.

"What the hell was that!?" Perseus yelled.

"That was my border." The creature hissed. "None of your friends may come in, and _you _may not come out."

"What are you!?" Perseus shouted.

"You haven't figured it out yet?" She smiled. "I am a _dracaenae. _Snake woman."

Perseus gulped. He had read about _dracaenae _in various books. They always showed up when forces of chaos and evil were nearby, meaning something evil is stirring somewhere close. Perseus would warn the others, but he couldn't escape. Great.

Perseus heard pounding on the door. He turned, and saw Nico and Percy banging on the door. They obviously could see the _dracaenae_, and were panicking because, heck, Perseus barely knew how to swing a sword. But they couldn't get in.

"Your friends will be okay." The _dracaenae _hissed. "They will just watch you die."

Perseus gulped again, and remembered his lighter. He took it out, and glanced to Nico and Percy. Their eyes widened. Perseus chuckled.

He pressed the first button, and it sprang into Apergia- Strike. Perseus swung Apergia, and he slashed the _dracaenae's _left snake. She hissed in pain. Perseus swung again, but missed. The lady struck but stepped back.

"Foolish demigod! You follow in your father's footsteps. You think striking and bolting can solve anything!" The creature laughed. Her laugh was more of a cackle. "The only way to my death is to destroy my trident. But that is impossible with a sword!"

_Let's see about that, _Perseus thought.

Perseus changed Apergia back into a lighter. He saw Percy get fear in his eyes, as if saying, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?". But Perseus didn't care. Perseus struck a flame, and jumped. The _dracaenae _hissed. Perseus only got a minor burn on his finger before bursting the black trident into flames. She screamed in pain. Her image flickered, and she dissolved into dust.

Perseus panted, exhausted. The magical border burst, and Nico and Percy fell into the room.

"Wow, Perseus..." Percy said.

"I know, blah, blah, I'm really smart and good." Perseus smiled. "I know."

The rest of the 7 burst into the room.

"GODS, we thought you died!" Hazel yelled.

"I'm fine." Perseus lied. But something tugged at the back of Perseus's mind, what the _dracaenae _had said- _You follow in your father's footsteps. You think striking and bolting can solve anything._ Perseus had an idea who his father was.

"Gods, Perseus!" Piper gasped. Perseus looked down to see a sword cut near his stomach. As if on cue, Perseus collapsed.

"Get to the infirmary!" Percy yelled, and grabbed Perseus's legs. The 8 carried him to a small room, but Perseus couldn't take note of the details, because he quickly passed out.

\.../

"Please, Lord Hades..." Perseus heard. He moved a bit. The voice sounded familiar. "Please let him be alive..."

Perseus opened his eyes. He was on a small cot, wrapped in a blue blanket. He seemed to be in the infirmary. Perseus looked to the side of the cot and saw Nico, his hands together, elbows on his knees, head in his arms. He seemed to be praying. Soon, Nico looked up, and his eyes widened.

"Perseus!" Nico gasped. "You're alive!"

"Yeah." Perseus laughed. "I am." He tried to get up, but Nico pushed him down.

"No." Nico said strictly. "Don't walk yet. It'll burn."

"Have you been... have you been treating me?" Perseus asked. Nico nodded, head down. Perseus grabbed Nico's hands, looking straight into his eyes. "Thank you, Nico." It would be strange if Perseus wasn't in a hospital cot and cared.

Nico nodded. "Perseus, I-... I have something to tell you. I-"

Nico was interrupted by Percy bursting into the room. "We've docked."

Perseus perked up. "What? Where?"

Percy smiled. Nico got up. "We're at the island."


	6. Chapter VI: Pirates are Mean!

**The City of Icarus**

**Chapter VI**

**Pirates are Mean!**

Perseus climbed down the ladder and finally set his feet on wet sand. He looked down and realized the ladder was thrown into the water.

"Nice accuracy, Leo." Perseus surged through to get to land. Leo snickered.

Perseus looked around. Hills blocked the view of most of the island. There were palm trees planted in front of the hills. The sand stretched out for about 7 yards, then to grass for 8 yards, then hills.

Percy climbed down behind him. "Not much, here."

Next to Perseus, Nico cracked a small smile. "Thanks, Captain Obvious." He started moving towards the trees.

After a few minutes, all of the 9 were under a large palm tree, sitting in the soft grass, having a nice picnic. Sandwiches, chips, and fruit. Perseus ate happily until Jason spoke up.

"So, is this the island?" He asked, biting out of an apple.

"Not sure." Percy answered. Then he blurted out a bunch of numbers.

"Coordinates?" Perseus asked.

Annabeth put her head on Percy's shoulder. "My little Seaweed Brain."

Perseus smiled. He wished he could have a romance like that.

"But are those the coordinates we need to go to?" Leo asked. He pulled out a small note that read more coordinates. Leo shook his head. "Nope. We're too south."

Percy cursed in Ancient Greek. Perseus understood everything he said, and didn't appreciate it.

Perseus's thoughts were interrupted by a loud BOOM! and a lot of laughing.

They all exchanged looks, quickly cleaned up the picnic, and ran to the sound.

A gang of men stood in the sand. They all coincidently had eye patches, and wore strange striped clothes. Perseus could only recognize them as pirates.

Soon, one the men glanced at them. He laughed. "'Ey look, outsiders!"

All of the pirates looked in their direction and started running towards them. Perseus didn't trust these guys, and reached for the lighter in his pocket. Nico, who was right next to him, swatted Perseus's hand away. Perseus looked up to Nico and Nico mouthed, _Not now._

Finally, the pirates reached them. One with a long beard stood in front. A tag on his shirt read: HI! MY NAME IS: _Kynigos Thisavron_. Perseus translated it to _Treasure Hunter_.

"'Ey, kids, what are ye doing on er island?" Treasure Hunter smiled and showed his crooked, yellow teeth. "This is er territory. Get ye butts out."

"'Ey!" One named _Peiratis Kalo Paidi- Pirate Good Guy- _stepped up. "Don't be mean to 'em, Kynigos Thisavron. 'Ey're kids!"

"Yo kids, what are ye names?" One asked. His name was _Fortotis Kanoni- Cannon Loader. _

Perseus didn't like the idea of giving the guy their names. But maybe they could help in finding this island. They introduced themselves.

Treasure Hunter smiled. "Nice names, kids. Now, we're gonna 'rrest you for trespassing."


	7. Chapter VII: The Button in the Stone

**The City of Icarus**

**Chapter VII**

**The Button in the Stone**

The door closed and the lock clicked. Perseus groaned.

Treasure Hunter and Cannon Loader pushed them into a cold dungeon, while Pirate Good Guy insisted otherwise.

"At least we're not stuck in a dungeon with a monster." Leo snickered.

"Shut up, Leo." Nico ordered. He sat on the ground and put his head in his hands. After a minute, he put his head up. "What do we do?"

Perseus took out his lighter and looked at it. Now that he was able to look closely, he saw words on the bottom- _Apo ton patera sou. _Perseus gulped away a cry. It read- _From Your Father_.

But who was his father?

Perseus slumped down next to Nico.

"Thanks, for helping me."

Nico shook his head. "You don't need to thank me."

"You saved my life."

"You're making this hard for me."

"What?" Perseus turned to Nico. "I don't understand."

Nico shook his head again and stood. He walked over to Jason and Percy, and once again, like back in the city of Icarus, Perseus was alone. This time, he didn't think to gulp down his cries. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

_Your uncle never treated you right. _More tears.

_Nobody likes you. You have no friends._

_I have Nico. _Perseus argued against the voice in his head. _I have the rest of the 7._

The voice was quiet after this.

"Guys!" Piper yelled. Everyone gathered around a small bump in the stone wall where Piper was standing.

"A button?" Perseus said.

"Press it." Jason commanded.

Piper pressed the bump. Suddenly, the room shook. Almost all of them were thrown off their feet as a hole in the wall appeared. There was a tunnel leading out.

Perseus ran up to the hole. "Should we go?"

"Um, yes!" Percy said.

Perseus walked into the tunnel. It was small and damp. Percy and Annabeth had to crouch down to fit. The tunnel seemed to go on for hours. Perseus began to feel exhausted, until Leo dumped a bucket of ice cold water on his head. For the fourth time.

Finally, they reached an opening. It led out to a grassy field, that stretched out about 10 miles. At the end, Perseus could barely see a large mountain with smoke coming out of it. A volcano.

"Should we go?" Frank asked.

"Let's set up a camp." Annabeth decided. Perseus looked out into the sky, and saw sunset coming quickly.

"Good idea." Hazel smiled.

An hour passed. The sky was dark, the woods surrounding the field were dark, and the fire burned bright in the middle of the 4 small tents. Percy was with Annabeth, Frank with Hazel, Perseus with Nico, and, since Leo was once again left alone, Jason and Piper volunteered to have him in their tents.

As soon as Perseus hit his pillow, he fell asleep.


	8. Chapter VIII: Down, Down, Down

**The City of Icarus**

**Chapter VII**I

**Down, Down, Down**

_BOOM! BOOM! _

Perseus's eyes shot right open. He sat up in his tent. Nico wasn't there. The booming continued.

Quickly changing, Perseus unzipped the tent door. The volcano was erupting.

Perseus didn't know if he was whispering or screaming. Rocks- flaming, orange, rocks- fell from the sky. He ducked as a giant boulder- completely on fire- hurled toward him, just barely hitting him. He took out his lighter, and pressed the first button, springing it into a sword. But what good would that do? Who cares.

Perseus slashed at a rock. He ran back inside his tent just as another rock flew at him. He gathered up his stuff- Nico's things were already packed- and ran to Percy and Annabeth's tent. Surprisingly, everyone else was in there. Perseus wondered how they could all fit.

"What are you doing!?" Perseus screamed. "The volcano is erupting! We have to move!"

"There's nowhere to go." Jason explained, as Perseus climbed in the tent. "If we go back to the tunnel, the pirates will find us. If we go in the woods, we'll get lost for sure. And nobody wants to go into the volcano."

"Maybe we have to." Leo blurted out.

Everyone turned to him.

"Are you crazy!?" Frank said. "We'll get burnt to a crisp."

"I'm fire-proof." Leo said. "Maybe if I- as awkwardly as it sounds- touch all of you while we go in the volcano, we might all be fire-proof."

"Crazy." Frank repeated.

"I don't know, maybe it'll work." Percy agreed. "Just like my ability to breathe underwater."

"Well, we'll have to try." Perseus said. He looked out of the tent. Magma was slowly spilling out of the volcano. "Lava's coming."

"But how will we get in?" Hazel asked. "The ship's still docked by the beach."

Perseus thought for a moment. "Maybe Percy can create a wave to bring us in." He looked at Percy. "You're the Son of Poseidon, right? Can you do that? Is that on your list of abilities?"

Percy laughed. "Yes, yes, and not always. Let's move!"

\.../

Perseus didn't like water much. He never knew how to swim, or surf, but he was doing it now. They were 5 miles away from the volcano at most. Perseus could already feel the heat.

"Huddle up!" Leo yelled.

They all huddled up so Leo was making contact with everyone. Nico and Frank seemed aggravated that Leo was touching them, but they let him. They were now right next to the volcano.

"UP!" Percy commanded the wave. It flew up, all the way to the top of volcano. "DOWN!"

Unexpectedly, the wave swerved down into the erupting volcano. Perseus didn't feel a thing. He didn't even have to close his eyes. But, the ride into the volcano was, again, unexpectedly long. It seemed to take 15 minutes to reach the bottom, but still, the bottom didn't feel like the bottom to Perseus.

The wave crashed to the left. Perseus thought they must've been going through a tunnel, that connects the lava to the volcano. Finally, they landed into open air. It seemed like a large, open cave. It felt humid. The smell was weird, a strange smell of death. Then he realized why it smelled like death.

They were in the Underworld.

\.../

Perseus didn't understand that they could've gotten to the Underworld so quickly. He thought a trip to the Underworld would take hours, maybe days. But it had just taken them 45 minutes.

Perseus gasped. There wasn't much air down here.

Nico and Hazel seemed fine. Percy and Jason kept their eye out, like they were afraid of Hades, or Pluto. The rest of the 8 were fine.

Finally, the wave stopped, and they landed on hard ground. Perseus scanned the terrain. Spirits walked the fields. A very large palace sat at the right, miles and miles away. Perseus could see a large dog in the distance that had... 3 heads?

"Welcome to the Underworld." Nico put his arm around Perseus's shoulder. "Like it?"

Perseus laughed, but to be honest, he didn't know if that was a joke or not.

"We weren't supposed to get here." Percy said glumly.

"The prophecy..." Annabeth gasped.

"What?" Perseus asked. "What prophecy?"

Annabeth gulped and recited the prophecy:

_Nine shall arrive in the world of the dead,_

_The sword shall result in the gates being shred,_

_Thunder and death control the cage,_

_The island's wrath complete with rage._

**A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger. Couldn't help myself :D Please review!**


	9. Chapter IX:Follow the Ghostly Brick Road

**The City of Icarus**

**Chapter IX**

**Follow the Ghostly Brick Road**

**A/N: Thanks ChickenOfDoom for my first review. I sound pretty desperate right now :P Well, enjoy the chapter.**

The walk to Hades's palace was exhausting. Perseus wished he had some kind of drink that automatically makes you want to walk 50 miles to a palace built for the lord of the dead and his three-headed dog.

One can wish.

He just trudged on, occasionally glancing at the spirits, which were sort-of see-through. They also occasionally looked back, and at that Perseus looked down. Oh, just a teenage thing- it's weird to see a spirit look back at you when you look at you, because, you know, they're dead.

"Oh, come on, Percy Jr." Percy put a hand on Perseus's shoulder. "The Underworld isn't _that _bad."

"Don't call me that." Perseus shrugged off Percy's hand.

"Ooh, sassy." Leo laughed.

Perseus just ignored him. He didn't know why, but it seemed like the Underworld was casting a wave of angry emotions over him.

Finally, they reached a gateway. It wasn't the gateway to Hades's palace, though. It was just a gateway, that the gray road they were walking on continued through. The gate was old and made of stone. The words _Kalosorizo ston kato kosmo! Apolofsete diamoni sas! _were written on top. Perseus translated it to _Welcome to the Underworld! Enjoy your stay!_. What a nice thing to say.

They kept walking, and walking, and walking. It seemed like forever. They had to stop and sit for about 30 minutes. They did this around 8 times, and after the 9th, Perseus stopped counting.

\.../

A day later, they reached a more-recently built gate. Dozens of spirits were lining up to go through. This must've been the House of Judgment, were spirits go to find out whether they go in the Fields of Asphodel, Punishment, or Elysium.

By the look on most of their faces, there's going to be a lot of Punishment residents.

"What do we do now?" Perseus asked. He stared into the distance. About 2 miles away was the Palace of Hades. "Maybe we can sneak past the House and get to the Palace."

"Not a chance." Hazel shook her head. "Too many guards."

"I know what to do." Nico said.

He walked up to one of the guards. They just stood there.

"I can charmspeak. I'll go." Piper said, and ran after Nico.

A few minutes later, they came back. "He'll let us go." Nico explained. "But we have to pay."

"Pay what?" Perseus asked.

"Drachmas." Annabeth dug out a bunch of gold and silver coins. "Greek currency."

"I've never heard of those."

"How much, Piper?" Jason asked.

"3 a person."

Annabeth gulped. "I only have 22 left."

"I'll sneak out with Perseus." Nico blurted out.

Percy looked surprised. "Okay, let's go."

\.../

Nico held Perseus's arm as he ducked through the gates. The guards didn't see them. Perseus sighed in relief, but that was just enough for the guards to hear it.

Whispering, Nico said, "Hold my arm. Tight."

"What?"

Nico didn't answer. He just melted out of the shadows of the gates, bringing Perseus with him. It was an interesting trip, Perseus had to admit. Traveling through the shadows to get passed Judgment Guards.

Finally, they popped in front of the 7. Nico sighed in relief.

"Good, you made it safely." Hazel said.

Perseus turned to his right. He was too excited to care that Nico was still holding on to his arm.

They had reached the Palace of Hades.


	10. Chapter X:Nico's Nice, but His Dad Isn't

**The City of Icarus**

**Chapter X**

**Nico's Nice, but His Dad Isn't**

Percy knocked on the door. It had those, like, old-fashioned knockers, where you put your hand on the handle and push it to the door. Perseus didn't understand how loud that could be, but it must be loud, because a woman answered it very quickly. She had long, black hair and dark skin. She had charming green eyes and smelt like flowers, and she wore a long, elegant black dress that showed her calves.

"Hello, miss." Jason said. "May we, uh, come in?"

"Please state your names and why you were here." The lady smiled. "Lord Hades does not allow any unknown visitors." She looked at me with a strange look. "Is this boy coming with you? He smells of..." She shook her head. "I shouldn't say that."

"What?" Perseus demanded.

"Perseus, be nice." Annabeth told him. "This is Persephone, goddess of springtime."

"Oh..." Perseus blushed a little.

"Do not worry, young hero." Persephone said. "Now, please introduce yourselves in 5 minutes or less, or Lord Hades will get angry."

Percy cleared his throat. "I'm Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon-"

"Hm." Persephone said. "Lord Hades will not be happy of that."

"I've already met him." Percy had a bit of anger in his voice. "This is Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. Jason Grace, son of Jupiter-"

"Roman?" Persephone asked. Jason nodded. "Very strange of a Roman to come to the _Greek _Underworld."

Jason looked offended. Percy continued. "Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite. Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus. Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto-"

"Maybe Lord Hades won't be angry at you."

"-Frank Zhang, son of Mars-"

"Three Romans? You have some nerve."

"-Nico di Angelo, son of Hades-"

"Lord Hades may like to see his Greek son."

"-and Perseus, son of... uh, we don't know."

"But you let him tag along?" Persephone smirked. "What. A. Nerve."

"I _am _a demigod." Perseus growled angrily. "If you say-"

"Ok, Perseus." Persephone smiled. Perseus could've sworn she was enchanted in some way, because Perseus immediately wanted to follow her. "We shall meet Lord Hades now. Come with me."

\.../

The palace was, strangely, smaller on the inside. Persephone led them down a long corridor into a large throne room. There was writing on all the walls, something about death, but the writing was so small Perseus couldn't read it. Tables surrounded the dark throne. On the throne, a strange man sat. He wore a long, dark robe and a crown of sorts. He had an angry look in his eyes.

Persephone whispered something to him. He nodded.

"Children, why are you here?" The man boomed. He stood from his throne.

"We request help, Lord Hades." Annabeth walked forward a few steps.

"For what, daughter of Athena?"

"We need to find the Cage of Icarus, on an island in the Aegean Sea." Annabeth explained. "We got here by traveling through a volcano, and we were on this strange island with pirates, and they-"

"Shut up!" Hades yelled. "I do not want to hear of your tragic backstory. How, exactly, do you request help?"

"We need to get to the island." Leo said.

"That seems a major objective in your quest." Hades sat down. "I cannot help you with that. It is an island; my brother's territory."

"That's not fair." Perseus stepped forward, but Nico held him back. "_I'll talk to him."_ Nico whispered. He walked forward to his father.

"Father, Lord Hades." Nico pleaded. It seemed unusual for Nico to plead. "We really need help. Will you help us?"

"Why must you ask me?" Hades smiled evilly. "Young Perseus has all the answers."

Everyone turned to Perseus. He stood there, staring at Hades. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Lord."

"Don't lie." Hades smiled again. "Your father and mother have kept it a secret, haven't they? Oh, too bad."

Perseus gulped. His hand crept to his lighter.

"You are very dangerous." Hades said. "Very different. That is why I must kill you."

In a swift move of pure attack, Hades summoned a dark, wooden staff with a jewel on top. A purple beam shot out and would've hit Perseus if Nico hadn't jumped in front of him.

"Nico!" Perseus cried. He ran to Nico's side.

"Oh, please." Hades chuckled. "It was just a sleep spell. It was meant to make you sleep, then I kill you."

"You wouldn't kill your son." Hazel said. Her voice was calm.

"No, daughter, I wouldn't." Hades stood again. "Look children, I will give one piece of advice. The sword is no longer on the island."

"How'd you know that we needed the-"

"Silence!" Hades boomed. He held out his hand. 9 small pearls were held carefully on his palm.

"Thank you Lord Hades. I-" Percy was interrupted by a low growl.

"Cerberus is acting up." Hades told Persephone. "Go calm him."

Persephone quickly rushed to Cerberus.

"You each take one. I will make my son wake up so he can smash one."

"Thank you Lo-"

"Shut up! Leave."

Everyone smashed a pearl at their feet. Perseus helped Nico, who had just awakened. A bubble appeared around them. Then, they floated up, away, out of the Underworld, away from the angry aura of the Lord of the Dead.

**A/N: So, I don't know if anyone noticed, but I have plans for Perseus and Nico. Say in a review if you know what's happening ;) Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Stay tuned for Chapter XI!**


	11. Chapter XI: Throwing Caution to the Wind

**The City of Icarus**

**Chapter XI**

**Throwing Caution to the Wind**

**Introducing... PERSEUS'S POINT OF VIEW**

The bubble popped when I was 10 feet above the ground. Wow, thanks Hades.

I fell to the ground with a loud _THUD! _and my back ached. Right after, the other 8 demigods popped and fell the ground. There were some moans, considering the ground was really rough, but I just ignored them and stood. We were in a completely different place.

Well, we had traveled, like, 20 miles in the Underworld. I've heard some myths where the distance multiplies itself in the Overworld.

Next to me, Nico dropped. He screamed, and I figured something was wrong with his back. Percy fed him something called ambrosia, where I guess could heal demigods, because Nico was feeling better in a minute or two.

"All right." I said. "Where do we go?"

Annabeth looked around and frowned. "I don't know."

"Woah, daughter of wisdom doesn't know!" Leo laughed. Annabeth gave him a death stare, and he whimpered.

I looked around. We were in the middle of the woods. It reminded me of the woods back home, where only a few trees had fallen, and the forest looked brand new- thousands of trees stood tall, covering the sunlight.

Speaking of sunlight, it was getting dark.

I yawned. "Let's set up camp." I told the rest. They all nodded in agreement.

We went with the same tent arrangements as last time. Percy and Annabeth, Jason, Piper, and Leo, Hazel and Frank, and me and Nico. Soon, we were all snuggled in our tents. I stared up to the roof of the tent. I couldn't sleep.

What had Hades said?

_The sword is no longer on the island._

Then where do we go?

\.../

I dreamt of a castle, a humungous castle, on a lonely island in the sea. It had dark brick walls and towers in the four corners. A steaming hot lava moat surrounded the castle. On the very top was a tower with a flag on it. It was green and orange had the Greek letter Delta on it.

Two men walked up to the flag.

One of them wore sky blue clothes, and a business suit. "Look, I cannot afford to even use the winds to blow them away."

"We have to get them out of a 20 mile radius." The other man, who had dark blue and black clothes on, and a sleepy look, said. "Or else they will be able to find us."

"Don't we want that, Hypnos?" The first man smiled. "Just bring them in and kill them. They'll be disappointed that minor gods killed them instead of a freakin' Primordial. But sadly, I can't."

"Why, Aeolus?" Hypnos growled. "Why is it so hard to use as much as a small push to knock them away?"

"_You _should try controlling the winds." Aeolus replied. "It is very difficult, considering my position in Olympus TV."

"Shut up!" Hypnos shouted. I winced. "I don't want to hear of those idiot Olympians!" Aelous gulped, and thunder boomed in the skies. "I just want to kill those children. Especially that son of Zeus!"

_Son of Zeus? _I wondered. Jason was the son of Jupiter- but Jupiter was Roman.

"I'll try, Hypnos, but I still need to lead the army." Aeolus explained. "I could blow them away a few times, but I'll be busy building the army."

Hypnos thought for a moment. "Go on offense."

"But, Hypnos, that is very dangerous for even a god like me! What will I-"

"Go on offense! Meet with the children!" Hypnos commanded. "Kill them! Distract them! Anything to keep them from entering the castle!"

"What about Iris, sir?" Aeolus asked. "She was on offense."

"She shall take your place." Hypnos growled. "Rainbows to distract children? What was that lady thinking!?" Hypnos looked out over the horizon, then at Aeolus. "Get to work!"

Aeolus hurried down the tower. Hypnos looked up, and I swore, his eyes were locked with mine.

"You will die, son of Zeus." He smiled evilly, and he reminded me of Hades. Then he walked back down and my dream was gone.


	12. Chapter XII: Secrets

**The City of Icarus**

**Chapter XII**

**Secrets**

**A/N: So I've decided that I do Perseus's Point of View every ten chapters (ex. Chapters 11-20, 31-40) and Nico's Point of View those remaining chapters (ex. Chapters 21-30, 41-50 [if I can make it that far]). You'll find out why I want to do Nico's Point of View in this chapter. Also, I will make sure to remind you guys when the Point of View changes. Enjoy the chapter!**

I woke up suddenly. Winds knocked against the tent, not terribly strong though. I glanced to my right, and Nico was staring up at the roof of the tent. I looked away. I didn't want him to ask why I was looking at him.

"Can't sleep?" He broke the silence. I turned to him, and nodded.

I sighed. "I had a... vision."

"That happens to demigods."

"Yeah, but... this was, important." I moved out of my sleeping bag that I had set up and plopped down next to Nico. He sat up.

"What was it?" He asked. He may have been dark, the son of Hades, and creepy, but I saw intense worry in his eyes. I explained the dream.

"Gods..." Nico thought aloud. "Do you know what that means?"

"We're those children." I said. "Aeolus, Hypnos, and Iris want to kill us."

"No..." Nico whispered. "Don't you get it, Perseus? 3 minor gods? Wouldn't they want backup? And they wouldn't want to kill us for no reason. They need to get rid of distractions."

It struck me. I never realized Nico was so smart. The minor gods (Hecate, Hypnos, Iris, Aeolus, Pan, etc.) hate the Olympians. Now they wanted to rise, and destroy them. And they don't want distractions. Well, at least I _thought _they wanted to destroy the Olympians. It was the most logical answer for the evidence we have.

"How are we going to... you know, stop them?" I asked dumbly.

Nico sighed. "I've defeated Chronus with my cousin. I've been through Tartarus. I've survived the House of Hades, and defeated Gaea the Primordial. I think we'd be able to defeat some minor gods." Thunder rumbled outside.

"I think they have help." I blurted out.

Nico stared at me. "What do you mean?"

"Well, they're gods, right? So they'd know of your previous records." I explained. "They know what you, what all of you, have done before. They're going to need help."

"But from whom?"

I thought for a minute.

"Giants?"

"No. Defeated them in the war with Gaea."

"Titans?"

"Maybe. But we defeated quite a few in the war with Chronus."

"Other Primordials?"

Silence. Nyx, Ouranos, Chaos. They might be included. I gulped when I thought of Chaos. He was the most evil being of Greek Mythology, the father of all, the oldest of all, the creator of everything. What if he was on their side?

If he was, we're definitely going to die.

I turned on my side. If this was the deal, the Primordials, Minor Gods, and maybe even Titans, coming after us and Olympus, we would be doomed. Dead. Blown to the other side of the universe.

"We can't think like that. We have to focus on the Cage, the Sword, the Island, that's it." Nico said. "We just do what we have to and get out of here."

_Get out of here. _That would mean going back to Uncle Dooley. To Icarus, Greece. To the woods, my broken camp, my broken city. The life that I hated. These memories flooded into me, and I suddenly remembered when I first met the 8. When I first met Nico. Repaired the ship. Attacked by a _dracaenae_. Sent to the infirmary.

"What did you need to tell me, Nico?" I turned back to him. He had a puzzled look on his face. "When I was in the infirmary. You needed to tell me something."

"Oh, I, uh..." Nico looked down. Then, out of nowhere, he leaned up and kissed me, full on the lips. I was surprised at first, but went with it. I didn't want to hurt this guy. I know what he's been through. Abandoned by his father, his mother died, his sister died, and he's left, broken. So I kissed back.

We stopped after a few minutes. Nico leaned away. "I-I'm sorry, Perseus, I-" He started crying. I moved over and hugged him, rubbed his back.

"It's okay, Nico." I assured him. I kissed his forehead, just a small peck. I didn't know if he started sleeping, but I know I did.


	13. Chapter XIII: The Earpiece

**The City of Icarus**

**Chapter XIII**

**The Earpiece**

I woke up on Nico's shoulder. I quickly moved. I didn't want anyone to know what happened last night.

I unzipped the tent and walked outside. Dawn had arrived about 1 hour ago; I could see the sun low in the sky, but rising. I located the center of our camp and set up a few sticks. I brought out my lighter and started a fire. I set up 9 chairs that we all decided to put in me and Nico's tent. I sat down in one and yawned.

The tent to the left of my tent zipped open. Frank stepped out, then Hazel.

"Morning." I greeted them.

Soon, everyone was sitting by the fire. I passed around sticks and a bag of marshmallows.

"So," Percy started a conversation. "How was everyone's sleep?"

Nico and I exchanged quick glances. "Fine." I half-lied. The dream was bad. The other stuff was fine.

"No one had dreams?" Jason asked. No one talked after for about 15 minutes.

Then, I heard a strange ringing noise. It was so high-pitched and loud, I felt like my ears were burning. No one seemed to notice, until I started screaming.

"P-Perseus?" Nico ran to me. "What are..." I couldn't hear the rest. My ears- or something else- were ringing so high my head was hurting. I just sat on the grass, the cold, hard, grass, and huddled up. I rocked back and forth like I was mental.

Everyone gathered around me. I let them feed me ambrosia, but it didn't help. I still felt like my head was burning up.

Then it stopped.

I stopped rocking. I wiped away the insanely scared look on my face and laid down on the ground.

"P-Perseus?" Nico asked. "Are you... are you okay?"

I nodded. I couldn't speak.

"Let him be alone." Annabeth suggested. "Let's all go in our tents."

Everyone left but Nico.

"Perseus, please talk."

I tried, opening my mouth, but I was unable to. It was like the sound left a scar in my vocal cords. Finally, I spoke in a soft croak, "Nico..."

"Oh my freaking gods Perseus..." Nico sat on the ground and put his head on my chest. I heard crying.

"It's o-okay..." I croaked.

"Don't do that, Perseus." Nico checked to see if anyone was looking, and kissed me again, on the lips. I kissed back.

"I don't know what caused it..." I said, my voice immediately getting better. I kissed him again. "It was this ringing... and so loud..."

"It's okay, Perseus." Nico told me. I sat up, and across our camp, I saw a shimmer on the ground. I tried to stand up, but almost fell back down, if Nico hadn't saved me. "What is it?" I pointed towards it. He nodded and helped me walk to it.

It was an earpiece. I picked it up.

A small ringing sound came from it. Then it stopped. I put it up to my ear.

"- you do not answer back I will send you to the depths of Tartarus!" A man's voice yelled.

"Husband, don't talk that way to Aeolus. He's trying his best to find those kids." A woman.

"Don't call me that, Hecate. I am the Lord of Heroes."

"Yes. And you were _just _appointed a god, a _minor _god, by Hypnos. Do you know how much trouble you would be in if you killed them?"

"You do not control me."

"I am older than you by millennia."

The new minor god sighed. "Aeolus, if you do not come back at sunset tonight, you have a very unfortunate future." The voices cut off and the ringing continued. I could've sworn I saw a figure in the woods.

"Come on, Nico." I said. "We're going to find Aeolus."

**A/N: Please note that this new "God of Heroes", who can control a hero's fate and his skills, is completely made up. There is no God of Heroes in Greek Mythology, as far as I know. Please review! :D**


	14. (XIV) Author's Note

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**I am sorry to anyone who may have liked this story, but I am canceling it. The story will still be up though, I just won't continue it. Personally, I have been having trouble continuing this, so I again, I am sorry to anyone who was enjoying the story. Honestly, I wasn't really enjoying it.**

**I hope you guys understand.**

**If you want, you can read my other fanfictions:**

**- Leyna Jackson: Circle of Water**

**- Catching Fire**

**Have a good day ... :)**


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